Japanese translation books have been getting a lot of attention in recent years and provide some fresh, original stories to the Australian market. I have made it a goal to broaden the variety of books in store, including adding more voices from different cultures. Our local customers have loved the new additions. 

A copy of this book came into the bookstore on a rainy day. The heaters were on; a coffee was beside me on the counter and this seemed like the perfect cozy read. I thought this would be about all the cool things people would see, do and learn when they time travel but this is not Sci-Fi. Instead, the heavy restrictions on time travel make this less about adventure and more about finding closure. 

The rules for time travel are:

• There is only one seat in the cafe that allows you to go back in time. A ghost occupies this chair and only leaves their seat once per day. 
• Once they have travelled to another time, the customer cannot leave the seat.
• Only people that have visited the cafe previously can be met.
• No matter what they do, a person cannot change the past.
• A person can only time travel once.
• They must drink the coffee before it gets cold or become the ghost in the chair. 

As you can imagine, the strict guidelines around time travel make it almost useless, except for those who are looking to spend one last moment with their loved ones. Its a book about final goodbyes. I am not someone to enjoy sad novels, or to cry during them but this novel had me on the brink of tears more than once. It is heartbreaking and heart-healing at the same time. 

I loved this book so much and will 100% be reading the rest in the series next time I need a good cry. 

Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi - USED – The Book Connection